Woman charged with dumping newborn baby in portable toilet

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Amari Saxton, Alyssa Munoz

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    LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KOAT) — A Las Cruces woman has been arrested after dumping her newborn baby in a portable toilet in Burn Lake.

The woman, Sonia Cristal Jimenez, 36, is suspected of giving birth to a baby girl Saturday evening in a portable toilet at Burn Lake, then disposing of the newborn in the holding tank.

Around 10:30 p.m., on Feb. 7, staff at Memorial Medical Center notified police that Jimenez had arrived at the hospital and had appeared to have just delivered a baby, but the baby was not with her.

Through investigation, police learned that Jimenez’s boyfriend, who took Jimenez to the hospital, mentioned they were previously at Burn Lake and Jimenez had used the portable toilet.

Las Cruces Police then responded to Burn Lake off Burn Lake Road and located the deceased newborn in the holding tank of a portable toilet.

Investigators believe that Jimenez gave birth to the baby, cut the umbilical cord, and then placed the baby in a holding tank, where she drowned.

The autopsy revealed that the baby was still alive when she was dropped in the portable toilet. The autopsy showed that she breathed and swallowed the blue chemical liquid commonly used in portable restroom sanitation. The blue chemical was found in the baby’s trachea, lungs and stomach, confirming that she breathed and swallowed the liquid while alive.

Investigators found out that Jimenez’s boyfriend was unaware that she was pregnant or had given birth. No charges against him are anticipated.

LCPD investigators obtained a warrant for the arrest of Jimenez. She was taken into custody Wednesday morning and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center, where she is initially being held without bond.

Jimenez is charged with one felony count of intentional child abuse resulting in death. The charge is a first-degree felony.

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Santa Cruz surfers hailed for rescuing family of 6 after boat capsizes

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Felix Cortez

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    SANTA CRUZ, California (KSBW) — Some Santa Cruz surfers are speaking out for the first time since helping rescue a family of six near Steamer Lane after their boat was hit by a large wave and capsized.

The surfers were recognized by Santa Cruz Fire Chief Rob Oatey, including well-known local surfer Darryl Virostko, who is known as “Flea.”

Virostko said he was surfing Saturday afternoon when he saw a boat “gunning it” near Steamer Lane and a group of surfers. He called it “the strangest thing.”

“I knew right away the wave was going to get him, you know, and when it hit him, we all just kind of kicked into action and like, we got to find these guys,” Virostko said.

The boat was carrying four children and their parents. The children were wearing life vests, but the parents were not, and all were thrown into the water, Virostko said.

“It was chaos,” he said, describing a capsized boat and debris in the water, including fishing line and bait.

Virostko and other surfers helped pull people from the water. Among them was 14-year-old Ian Anderson, who helped a young boy onto his surfboard.

“I looked over and I saw a boat in the water, and then I looked in a different direction and I see this kid floating in the water just yelling for help,” Anderson said.

First responders said the incident could have ended in tragedy without the surfers’ quick response.

“The surfing community is a pretty tight-knit community,” Anderson said. “When someone’s in trouble, we always come together to help that person.”

“It was just tremendous that they were there and that they jumped into action,” Oatey said.

Oatey met Wednesday with some of the surfers to thank them for their actions.

“It’s not common or everyday that people want to get involved,” he said. “So it’s huge that we have people in the community who are willing to take that step and become involved in an emergency situation.”

City officials said they are considering a ceremony to honor the surfers at a later date.

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California woman sentenced to 7 years in prison for deadly road rage crash

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Ricardo Tovar

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    CARMEL VALLEY, California (KSBW) — A Carmel Valley woman has been sentenced in connection with a 2023 road-rage crash that killed a Carmel man, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

Jenny Lesch was sentenced to seven years in state prison after being convicted of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon. She was found guilty in October 2025.

White van crashed on Highway 1Carmel Valley woman guilty in 2023 road-rage crash that killed Carmel man The crash happened May 31, 2023, after James Pack, 62, of Carmel, was driving home in a white Westfalia VW van.

He merged onto the southbound Highway 1 from Fremont Street while being tailgated by Lesch.

After he merged, Lesch swerved into another lane, nearly hit another car, and braked to block Pack as he tried to merge into the lane she was then in, according to Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni.

The drivers exchanged obscene gestures, and Pack merged behind Lesch, prosecutors said.

Pacioni said Lesch repeatedly brake-checked Pack near the Aguajito Road exit, causing Pack to lose control of the van. As the van swerved, Lesch made an unsafe lane change and nearly hit a silver Honda, Pacioni said.

The Honda swerved to avoid Lesch and struck Pack’s van on the highway shoulder, causing the van to roll several times and eject Pack, prosecutors said. Pack later died of his injuries.

Investigators said Lesch and the Honda driver fled the scene. California Highway Patrol officers contacted Lesch at her home that night, and she denied being involved, prosecutors said.

“In her statement, she repeatedly lied to police by claiming that she wasn’t able to call 911 because her phone wasn’t working. However, forensic evidence later showed her phone was powered on and receiving a signal at the time of the crash and afterward,” read a media statement from the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said forensic evidence and dash-camera video captured portions of the incident and tied Lesch to the crash. Investigators arrested Lesch nearly two months later.

The district attorney’s office also cited a 2021 Newport Beach case in which Lesch was prosecuted after a parking-lot road-rage incident in which she keyed a Tesla. She initially told police she only spat on the car, but later admitted keying it after being shown the video, prosecutors said.

The Honda driver, Nicholas Krenke, was also located and prosecuted for fleeing the scene, authorities said.

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After Gov. Newsom approved $90 million for Planned Parenthood, his wife scolded journalists

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Ashley Zavala

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom scolded journalists at a press conference Wednesday, after her husband, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to provide $90 million in grants to Planned Parenthood.

Newsom’s move was the latest in his administration and the legislature’s effort over the last several years to protect clinics and women’s health amid funding cuts and law changes by the Trump administration.

The bill signing is a typical setting for journalists to ask the governor questions on any topic, but Siebel Newsom said she found it “incredulous” that reporters were asking off-topic questions.

Questions ranged from Newsom’s response to calls for Casey Wasserman to step down as the LA 28 Olympics head, a proposal to keep some High-Speed Rail records secret and recent litigation with the project, plus Newsom’s upcoming trip to Munich.

As the governor answered questions, Siebel Newsom could be seen behind him whispering about and laughing at journalists with Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, and Darshana Patel, D-San Diego.

Siebel at one point was asked to weigh in on the Wasserman situation. He’s facing backlash for exchanging racy emails with convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. She would not comment.

After the governor answered a question about the upcoming closure of an oil refinery in the Bay Area, lawmakers and Siebel Newsom broke out into a chant, “Planned Parenthood, protect women!”

Siebel Newsom then stepped to the microphone.

“We have Planned Parenthood here and women are 51% of the population and the majority of the questions, all of these questions have really been about other issues,” she said. “You wonder why we have such a horrific war on women in this country and that these guys are getting away with it, and you don’t seem to care.”

“Ask about what we’re here for today! Don’t you think?” Siebel Newsom said.

Most of journalists in the room were women, including those representing television outlets, the Associated Press, Politico, the New York Times, and Cal Matters.

After Siebel Newsom’s plea for on-topic questions, one reporter asked how the funding would specifically be used.

Planned Parenthood CEO Jodi Hicks said the money is meant to help backfill Medicaid funding that Congress cut. State lawmakers have said the money cannot be used on abortion services.

After that, the governor continued taking off-topic questions.

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Skier dies in incident on an advanced trail at Northstar California Resort

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Lindsay Weber

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    TRUCKEE, California (KCRA) — A 26-year-old Southern California man died following a skiing incident on an advanced trail at a Truckee resort last week, Placer County and Northstar California Resort officials confirmed.

Northstar California Resort said its ski patrol responded to a skier incident on the advanced Martis Trail on Feb. 6.

Placer County officials said the skier was pronounced dead at the resort. He was identified as Nicholar Kenworthy of Los Angeles.

“Northstar California Resort, Northstar Ski Patrol, and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family, loved ones, and friends,” said Tara Schoedinger, Northstar Vice President & General Manager, in a statement to KCRA 3.

The circumstances surrounding the incident have not been disclosed.

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Walmart employees praised after man threatens ‘petrified’ mother and child

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Lydia Blackstone

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    STATESBORO, Georgia (WJCL) — Statesboro police praised Walmart employees for helping contain a suspect after officers said a man broke into a display case, stole a BB gun and threatened a mother and her young child around noon Tuesday at the Walmart on Northside Drive.

Police said the suspect entered the store, broke display glass and grabbed a BB gun, then allegedly used it to threaten a woman and her child.

The suspect, identified as Nathaniel Anthony Jones, 40, had been released less than 24 hours earlier from Georgia Department of Corrections custody in Columbus, where he was serving time for burglary, police said.

“I believe he was to be bussed not directly here, but potentially to Savannah. And this is coming through family members that had an expectation of him actually coming home and arriving in Savannah, and then picking him up. And they went and he never showed up,” said Capt. Jared Akins of the Statesboro Police Department.

Officers said Jones used a sledgehammer to break a display case before approaching a mother and what police described as a “very young child.”

“She doesn’t know if it’s an actual firearm, if it’s an air rifle. So she’s petrified,” Akins said. “Obviously, she does the best she can to get both she and her child out of that situation, which she does.”

Police said the incident happened during a relatively quiet time of day and that Walmart employees quickly helped contain the situation until officers arrived. Akins said officers’ response time was about two minutes. The store was closed for about an hour while employees reset the area, police said.

Jones is charged with aggravated assault and second-degree burglary, police said.

“We don’t have any expectation of him having any sort of bond situation come up, because there is still a period of time that he’s under the supervision of Department of Corrections,” Akins said.

The woman and child were not injured, police said, but Akins said the family was shaken.

“Obviously, she’s shook up. You know, her husband came up here — he’s certainly shaken up by that,” Akins said. “And I would expect if it were my wife, I would certainly expect her to be that way and me to be that way too if my kids were involved with that.”

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After Charlie Kirk’s death, Iowa lawmakers target teachers’ social media posts

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Amanda Rooker

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — The fallout from conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing last year is still rippling through Iowa classrooms and now, through the Statehouse.

Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that could cost an educator their license over a single social media post. Supporters say it draws a clear line against celebrating politically motivated violence. Opponents warn it crosses a constitutional boundary and could punish protected speech.

House Study Bill 682 would require the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to revoke or deny a license if an educator publicly celebrates an act of politically motivated violence. The bill specifically includes “the unlawful killing of Charles J. Kirk.”

The bill defines “celebrate” as publicly expressing approval, joy, satisfaction, or glee. It gives examples such as “Good riddance,” “One less fascist,” or “He deserved it.” A single verified instance, including on social media, would be enough to trigger discipline.

Education groups told lawmakers that the bill violates protected speech. “It’s a blatant constitutional violation,” Melissa Petersen with the Iowa State Education Association said.

Other opponents said the proposal violates the First Amendment by limiting what teachers can say outside of work.

“It concerns me again that this is one more place where we would be telling someone that because they have chosen to live a life of service to the public schools, they don’t get to have the free exercise of the First Amendment that everyone else does,” said Rep. Elinor Levin, a Democratic state lawmaker from Iowa City.

Petersen pointed lawmakers to a decades-old Supreme Court case.

“In 1987, the Supreme Court decided in Rankin v. McPherson that a public employee could not be held liable for something that they did outside of the workspace, outside of their particular job. So, we think that this is already settled law,” she said.

The debate comes after several high-profile cases in Iowa.

In Oskaloosa, a teacher was fired after posting “1 Nazi down” within hours of Kirk’s death. A judge ruled that was job-related misconduct and denied him unemployment benefits. His federal lawsuit is still pending.

Two other Iowa educators are now suing the state’s licensing board, arguing complaints about their anti-Kirk posts violated their First Amendment rights.

School administrators urged lawmakers Wednesday to let those cases play out before creating a new law.

“Some of the other situations are in the court system, and so there’s going to be differing opinions on that,” Dave Daughton with School Administrators of Iowa said.

The bill does say a license cannot be taken away solely for protected First Amendment speech or for holding a political or religious viewpoint.

If passed, the measure would take effect immediately and apply retroactively to Sept. 10, 2025, the day of Kirk’s killing.

No one at Wednesday’s subcommittee spoke in support of the bill, including the Republican state lawmakers who moved it forward. Rep. Henry Stone, the subcommittee chair, declined to comment.

The Iowa House Education Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation Wednesday night.

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Birthday party fight turns deadly

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Graham Cawthon

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    SUMTER, South Carolina (WYFF) — A South Carolina man has been taken into custody weeks after a fight at a birthday party turned deadly.

Kenneth Cooper, 49, of Sumter, was knocked unconscious during an altercation that began as an argument while he attended a birthday party on Dec. 21, according to the Sumter Police Department.

Cooper was taken to Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital and later transferred to a hospital in Columbia. He died several days later, police said.

Investigators recently obtained warrants for Jawan M. Mack, 29, of Manning, following an autopsy and information gathered during the investigation, police said.

Mack, charged with voluntary manslaughter, turned himself in Tuesday and is being held at the Sumter County jail. Bond was denied Wednesday morning, police said.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Raising Cane’s fights Back Bay eviction over chicken smell, alleges ulterior motive

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Phil Tenser

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    BOSTON (WCVB) — Raising Cane’s alleged in a lawsuit that its Back Bay landlord is trying to evict the restaurant over the smell of its chicken fingers and that the move is tied to a dispute over lease rights.

According to the complaint filed last month in Suffolk Superior Court, the restaurant believes the threat of eviction is “an extortionate scheme.” It alleges that 755 Boylston LLC is using complaints about “chicken finger smells” as a pretext to force the company to give up its exclusive right to operate a chicken restaurant at the property.

Raising Cane’s says the landlord has been negotiating with Panda Express to lease neighboring space and has asked Raising Cane’s to waive its exclusive rights. According to the lawsuit, the landlord served a notice of termination and notice to quit in January, alleging “offensive and/or nuisance odors.”

“Incredibly, Defendant has tried to coerce Plaintiff’s consent for a competing chicken restaurant to locate at 755 Boylston Street under threat of eviction on the blatantly pretextual ground that Plaintiff’s chicken finger restaurant, a use explicitly contemplated by the parties and authorized in its lease, smells like chicken fingers,” the lawsuit states.

Raising Cane’s says its lease, signed in March 2021 and later amended, allows it to prepare and sell the fried chicken finger meals for which the chain is known. While the lease requires it to use reasonable efforts to minimize odors, the restaurant said it does not require the elimination of all restaurant smells.

The company says it has spent more than $200,000 on efforts to reduce odors, including inspecting and cleaning its exhaust system, installing charcoal odor-control filters, and sealing vents, according to the complaint. Additionally, the complaint says a consultant found that the second floor of the building, which was converted into office space, drew air up from the restaurant due to negative pressure, contributing to odor concerns.

In its filing, Raising Cane’s denies that it is in breach of the lease and seeks a court declaration that it is not violating the agreement, along with damages for what it calls “unfair and deceptive” business practices.

“We’re Chicken Finger fanatics – litigation is not what we do,” a spokesperson for Raising Cane’s wrote in a statement. “We hate that we’re in this position and haven’t been able to come to terms with our landlord. The Boston Community loves Raising Cane’s and we’re proud to employ hundreds of Crew at our Restaurants across Boston and the surrounding area. We believe this situation can be resolved amicably and will continue working toward resolving the conflict with our landlord so we can focus on what we do best: serving hand-battered, made-to-order Chicken Fingers to millions of Caniacs across Boston.”

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‘My heart just sank’: Iowa Lakes students mourn after deadly baseball team bus crash

CNN Newsource on February 12, 2026

By Abigail Kurten

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    ESTHERVILLE, Iowa (KCCI) — Iowa Lakes student William Evans says Wednesday’s accident is the type of thing you see in headlines, not something that happens to people you know.

One person died and more than 30 were injured when a bus carrying Iowa Lakes Community College’s baseball team went off the road Wednesday morning. The team was traveling to Arkansas for a series of games.

Evans, who’s been at Iowa Lakes Community College for less than a year, says the news hit him especially hard when he received a video from his friend who was on the bus wearing a neck brace in the back of an ambulance.

“My heart genuinely just sank, like, it just sank immediately,” he said. “And, you know, our buddy, he sent us the message, like, are you pulling our chain right now? Like, are you joking? But, no.”

He says the accident shocked the just-under 2,000 students on campus.

“It’s actually all that people can talk about,” he said.

Students held a vigil on campus Wednesday evening to mourn the loss of life, but members of the media were asked not to attend.

“Stuff happens and stuff can go wrong. And, you know, it’s important to stay close to your faith,” Evans said. “I really just think that it’s going to bring us closer together as a community and as a school because prayers go out to them.”

At the time of publication, Iowa Lakes has not released any further information on the victims or the deceased pending notification of all families involved, but told KCCI they would share more information on Thursday.

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